Timotei reviews: Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team

OP title shot

When someone mentions Mobile Suit Gundam, what come to mind? An over-powered humanoid machine wiping out everything in its path with its trusty beam rifle and saber? An unbeatable entity piloted by a teenager with special abilities? How about gritty, in the mud and trenches combat where your enemy is about as strong as you are? No? Then you obviously haven't seen 08th MS Team.

08th MS Team is a Mobile Suit series set during the One Year War of UC 0079 where the Earth Federation has already begun churning out small quantities of its own MS to combat Zeon's seemingly endless supply of Zakus. The series prides itself on its gritty and "realistic" depiction of combat where Gundams are not invincible, Zakus are tough, tactics and ammo actually are concerns, and those little bags of flesh and blood that weren't lucky enough to pilot a Mobile Suit themselves actually make a difference. Another element which makes this series all the sweeter is its underlying theme of no side is the righteous side and that even the protagonist lose from time to time. However the producers were not content with this purely awesome idea and decided to add a little suck to the mix by adding a forbidden love theme that takes a back seat until about the sixth episode. Despite it's flaws and its minor cliches I must say that this is truly one of my favorite anime series of all time. It also has one of the best opening themes I have seen in a long time.

Overview

RX-79[G]Gundam
Only 20 were ever produced. 12 of which are
assigned to Kojima's Battalion.

The first few minutes show a group of Mobile Suit pilots and their trusty GM(G) and Gundam(G)s casually heading off to the battle zone and taking the time for a few of what could be their last jokes. We are also introduced to a few supporting characters who are unable to to join their comrades due to their lack of a commander. A few moments later we are introduced to Shiro Amada, who is on a transport ship on his way to Earth to replace said commander. Shiro notices a firefight occurring outside and gets permission to use he ship's RB-79K Ball to assist the battered GM. With no regard for safety or the odds of survival, Shiro charges into combat and defeats the clearly superior Zaku but not without having to eject himself. The two pilots then find their way into a wrecked Federation cruiser where the Zeon pilot, who is revealed to be a woman named Aina Saharin try to kill each other. After realizing that they need each other to survive, the two team up and search the ship for any means of signaling their allies. The two succeed in their endeavor and bid farewell.

The next episode takes place on Earth in jungles of Southeast Asia. Shiro is assigned as the commander of the 08th MS Team, which utilizes the Federation's prototype RX-79[G] Gundam. Before Shiro has a chance to get his feet wet, him and his team are sent out into the jungle to support the 06th MS Team during their night patrol. They later encounter a pair of Zaku IIs which have made quick work of their GM flying counterparts and engage them. In any normal Gundam series this would be over in a matter of nanoseconds, but then again this is no normal series. After several minutes of what can be classified as a cluster fuck in the dark, a Zaku is taken down and another one gets its arm shot by Shiro. In the chaos of the battle Shiro strays too far and the group is separated. After later finding and destroying the stray Zaku, Shiro returns to base victorious and proves that he isn't the newbie everyone says he is. Between episodes 2 and 3 Shiro must have taken a hit to the head or undergone hypnosis, because from that point all he ever preaches is the value of working as a team and tactics (a little late don't you think). Shiro also encounters a loli guerrilla fighter named Kiki Rosita who is quick to develop a crush who then decides to tag along and pops in every few episodes. Kiki is only seen a few more times after Shiro and Aina's reunification.

MS-07B3 Norris Custom

The next few episodes are filled with both Aina and Shiro taking shit from their superiors about being in love with an enemy. Shiro is later given another chance to prove himself in combat but apparently has turned into pussy and refuses to kill the enemy. This is quickly torn to shreds when Shiro realizes (not really) that his enemy does not share his views on life. The rest of the series is just filler episodes that serve only to highlight Shiro's conflicting ideals and duty as a soldier. It's not until around episode 9 when Shiro and his team discover the location to Zeon's secret weapons development base that things begin to pick up. Upon calling in the location the Federation launches an all out assault on the base while the Zeon soldiers try to hold the line long enough to escape into space. Shiro and his team are tasked with guarding a unit of Guntanks but are attacked by Norris Packard, the only true ace pilot in the whole series. What ensues is one of the most awesome Mobile Suit fights ever put into a Gundam series.

Predicatbly Shiro succeeds in defeating Norris, but not without having all three Guntanks destroyed in the process. Shiro and Aina are reunited once more in the one moment where the series begins to lose focus. Shiro and Aina then become an heroes to bring down the Apsulus II, an over-sized Mobile Armor and THE FINAL BOSS piloted by Aina's whack job of a brother.

Dialogue

It's just a flesh wound.

The dialogue is some the best I have seen in a while. There aren't too many statings of the obvious and what little friendly chat there is between the characters is quite well written and isn't stale like that of Grenadier's. This of course does not mean that it is perfect. The characters have a tendency to speak their minds through their mouths and talk over open channels. But these flaws are just minor and do well to not sour the experience as whole.

Sound

The sound in 08th MS Team is quite superb. A firefight between Mobile Suits is a auditory experience all on its own. The voice overs are crystal clear as are the effects. Each type of Mobile Suit has it's own unique stepping sound as does each weapon.

p0wnd

Art

The art is absolutely gorgeous. Environments are lush and colorful and the character animation is nice and fluid, especially when it comes to fighting. Gravity and g-force is taken into great consideration as you will see pilots shunt in a direction when their Mobile Suit ceases movement. Tanks and Mobile Suits are beautifully rendered as are other small things. Great attention has been given to detail on even the most insignificant of things, even down to the varied movement of sweat. For something that was made in the mid 90s on a relatively low budget, the art and animation far outdoes even newer series.

But then again one must take into account that the release of each episode were few and far between, and the animators used this to their advantage and took the time to add some extra detail to each slide. There may only be 12 episodes, but they made damn sure that each one was as beautiful as possible.

Final comments

For a series that was plagued by setbacks, budget cuts, and even the death of the original director, 08th MS Team is a masterpiece of animation. The story is awesome, the action is realistic, the sound is good, and the art is mind blowing. The storyline could have done without the forbidden love element and the characters could have learned to keep their thoughts inside their heads, but these problems are insignificant and are thankfully not a poison to the show as a whole.

I find it deeply saddening that such a great and original series in such a bland and unoriginal saga has to take a back seat to other shows like 00 and Seed. Even in the ridiculously long line of Gundam video games the Mobile Suits and characters of 08th MS team hardly make an appearance and often suck. The only exception to this that I have seen is in Mobile Suit Gundam Crossfire where you'll find yourself flying Shiro's Ez8 right up until you can afford a Gundam.

I began writing this review with as unbiased a mentality as possible and took the time to re-watch all 12 episodes today, but even as a blank slate I still found myself loving 08th MS Team. For this I give this series my Silver Seal of Approval.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10

*seal under construction*

^{Review by: Timotei
Editing by: Amnestic
Inquisition by: Kuchinawa 212}

Line ASK Productions 2009

NoMoreSanity:
And Ikki Tousen is next? All I can say is Fanservice!

Strange, because it is categorized under bishoujo and ecchi.